Part 149
Sitemap '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ' Whole Lots More Fabulous Items/Ideas For a BioShock Rapture MMORPG '--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ' ' Part 149 ' --- --- --- --- --- --- Overexplaining Badly is Far Worse than Just Being Vague : The INFINITE BS writers really should have used some made-up pseudo-science names (like they do in Steam Punk) for all these wondrously impossible things, instead of linking them to (and misapplying) real Science terms/theories/technical capabilities. Too many people have seen alot of the TV Documentary Science shows, and are able to declare "Bullshit !!" on this feeble stuff. Better if Elizabeth's instructions had been : ' "Don't forget to get some Ionic Gel to lubricate the Frobney-Tesla Waveguides, to sufficiently smooth out the Aether-Flow after you activate the Transdimensional Matrixational Torg Stabilizers !!. Yes, definitely, Yi Suchong will be enraged if we Transmongrify the Zonal Data again and Invert Reality ..." ' (Wholy ignorant Players wouldn't know the difference, and the ones who have watched the Science Channel will chuckle and won't be dismayed at such being said because its obviously rubbish). --- --- --- Fontaine - Game Exaggerated Wealth : Al Capone supposedly was making $3 million profit a year from the proceeds of his illgotten gains (illegal and 'legit' businesses). Of course that was with millions of customers and not merely something less than 20000/40000. Capone ALSO had swindled people out of their businesses (so to buy them cheap) like Fontaine supposedly did. According to http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ the Ryan's (multi-multi millionaire) Industrial fortune 1946 would be worth 12 times as much today. Note : Chicago had a population of 2.7 million (1920) and Rapture only 20-40K. SO trying to make Fontaine into some big crime boss like Alfonso Capone doesn't exactly work -- to have him get anywhere near to Ryan and other rich people who invested 100s of millions to build Rapture. They later would be earning from rents/utilities/etc.. and other investments/businesses. It also takes TIME to compete, to grow with expenses sucking up profit. Fontaine's rise was limited to within a rather short time (early 1950s to 1958 for his 'ADAM' business). --- --- --- Things Having to Be Plausible (Skyline Again) ''' : Things have to be Plausible ? - Nope not in Infinite BS. But this proposal is about something better. Cable or Chain is NOW a Pointless Speculation ??? Trying to make sense when the game makers 'DID NOT CARE' about anything making sense (and we can do better). The problem with any real Cable or Chain driven system is the friction - with a real mechanism's complexity of rollers and guides required to reduce/prevent wear all along the LOOONG paths these things traverse. Consider ALL the resulting maintenance of machinery like that (and this isn't a Cable Car on a street, Columbia's are WAY up in the air ...). Another problem is : The need for a simple/robust 'grip' mechanism. A manual mechanism on a REAL street 'Cable Car' is needed to maintain control -- dealing with vehicle/pedestrian traffic, as well as starting and stopping. This all requires a human operator. An overhead system at least can have a bit less track complication (at stops and the route ends), though a 'double railed track for it is a nightmare design. Since paths between separated sections of Columbia are in the air (a better city design having NO separate floaty bits (blocks of buildings ) would have allowed it ALL to have placed one continuous Road surface system and perhaps some few solid bridges). Of course, a city in separate floaty bits looked 'neat' for the game, but was a poor problematic (potentially catastrophic failure bound design, unfit for anything marginally realistic. In the game, the Skyline became a downgraded/degenerated game feature (the impressive action shown prominently in the earlier Trailers couldn't completely go away - They had to pretend it was still there), but now it was reduced into so many rather pathetic circular battle arena elements. --- --- --- '''Dumb-Assed Player's Force Field ("Shield") Game Mechanic : Different from the Heal-Kit/regen Hitpoint method used in the previous games. But a rechargeable shield ("A magnetic-repulsive field" as it is explained) ? How exactly does that work Ken ? ( DONT ASK THAT OR YUR A RACIST !!!! ) Well with the constant Heap-O-Opponents situations (it is easy to develop 'difficulty' without better game AI being required) forces you to use cover and wait to recharge (good luck when many of those many battle-scenarios have you flanked most everywhere). Well, that can be good for forcing you to Lose sometimes, and to repeat those battles a few times -- a cheap way to stretch an already Pathetically Short gameplay time (( '' BTW - many independent commentors mention how tedious and repetative those staged battles became '' )). That "Shield" mechanism - its kinda hard to justify without StarTreky technology being involved (Oh thats right - "quantumz stuff" can make it work Quantum Particles Can Do Anything). That's ignoring real-science stuff like : the Fact that lead bullets (the majority of the projectiles meant to kill you) are NOT subject to magnetism and CANNOT be deflected (The BS2 Drill had something like this as one upgrade, and it probably could be explained away - an added rotating metal shield component - BUT IT WASN"T a fundamental aspect of the Player's combat, like the "Shield" is). Colored Liquid Fluids enhance your "Shields" abilities. Yeah - " Science " ... - Fink coined the term "Technolicious" to name his propensity for creating such an amazing number of things (and was subsequently beaten to death by an ex-English Teacher for that perversion in at least 3 alternate universes). --- --- --- Electronic Tubes Made From Rapture Beer/Booze Bottles : As long as it maintains a high vacuum, it could work (those wide necked bottles are particularly prized). Its the wire/grid/spacing structure of what goes INSIDE which is the trick. Smaller is generally better (less voltage required, but bigger is for more current). A good vacuum pump was worth its weight in gold for this kind of thing. Probably something you will see some Splicers doing when you are spying on them (fixing their electrical toys) -- more than the organized people in New Rapture. This can be taken to some absurd lengths (the simulated 'Thunker' one group of Splicer has, which only turns out to be a 'smoke and mirrors'(and flashing lights) 'Great Oz' type scam. More often, Splicers would be making their own replacement Light Bulbs. - Some Splicers took up hobby of building stuff in bottles (like ships and bridges and crazy mime dioramas), and developed useful skills for fitting together interesting Electronic 'Tube' devices. Note - in the Real World, multiple vacuum tube components WERE fit into single glass enclosures. In the UK, the pre-transistor radio licenses (socialism you understand) cost more with the additional 'tubes' your radio had (more tubes implied better quality reception hence a higher tax), so this multi-component thing WAS done by manufacturers to dodge that customer expense. - Some of those 'hobby' things acted better as BOMBS - which gave more than a few Splicers a "Hey Yeah !!" moment. --- --- --- Hotel Metropol (metropolitan) ' : Look at old records/pictures/maps for LA and you can see how many small 'hotels' there were (really are 'apartment' buildings, renting rooms). Cities had alot of mobile people - those coming into the cities for work, and few in olden times had the money to buy/rent a house. (Rapture and Columbia WOULD NOT HAVE that 'mobile' aspect.) Seriously, there is little need for what WE think of as 'Hotels' in Rapture (but I suppose that naming convention at least is allowable). --- --- --- Technology ' Real World - How Primitive Internal Combustion Engines Were 1893 ''' : So many things mighta/woulda still have been Steam Powered (ex- steam-powered automobiles actually competed with gasoline powered ones - 'flash boilers' (no big water boiler)). Fink&Co lookin' at future thru "Tearz" to get technology ??? Right. Just cuz you saw them (the Baron Finkenstein) didn't mean you could make them (and they never in-game mentioned STEALING such things/objects - OR have at least one caper being something stolen BACK through Tears from some other universe, by some rather angry inhabitants of that other place.) - So In Rapture It (the fuel of choice for an engine) Would be BioDiesel and/or Alcohol : Obtaining Mineral Hydrocarbons (oil/coal/natural gas) is unlikely for Rapture -- to far away, and too much of it (bulk) needed for its use (maybe before the 1952 isolation Ryan could ship small tankers full of fuel bought in the US market, but that would run contrary to his long-term Self-Sufficiency goals. Drilling for oil underwater 300 miles away (north of Iceland)? It would be inefficient and very costly (including its transport) which would make that option ineffective and thus nonviable. so Rapture would be turning to some alternate renewable source. Methane from garbage probably would be done, but that gas isn't quite as easy to store/use in a vehicle. Also Burning stuff within an enclosed space is problematic (using up air oxidizer without asphyxiating people and producing pollutants from inefficient combustion). Possible Industrial use by industrial facilities -- a bit closer to the surface to access the open air is likely. Such fuels to power and add range for submarines (when batteries always would be too limited in range) - a combustion engine can run near the surface (the German "snorkel" air-intake) using surface air for the combustion (that's the way pre-nuclear submarines had to operate). Use of compressed gas as a possible alternative method of powering a sub engine, but only when operated very close to the surface (which fishing subs normally WOULD do). --- --- --- '''Gunplay in Eden : Some Game Company Meeting : "This 'Execution' special move thing will definitely get us a whole bunch more sales. We have to make sure it is shown in the Trailers." Yeah, 'story' and 'vision' ... Still, if you want to go full tilt (and get even ALOT more sales from that same Player demographic) then you should have allowed the Player's to shoot whomever they wanted at anytime - The Beach massacre, the Faire Lottery a bloodbath, the Luteces heaped on the ground with crushed skulls, dozens of amusing and spectacular ways to kill, The Players hunting shrieking inhabitants whenever they feel like it ... (Just have no children, because killing them is "bad" ). Maybe Columbia mighta been (ALOT) better as : Luigi's - The Floating Mobster City (Nostalgia again, and copying real buildings (from old pictures) instead of that Hummel Figurine BS:I weirdness). --- --- --- TV in Rapture : Movies Theaters in Rapture could compete with TV because they were in Color. Rapture might have been at the point of changing from B&W by 1958, but the Chaos stopped that. No TV 'antennas' in Rapture (signal doesn't go thru water - it has to be a cable wire system) --- --- --- ' "House of Screaming Skulls" ' : What is it ? Horror movie ? (late night TV) Sophia Lamb's Obsessive Collection (or just what some of the inmates call some of Sofia's drug treatments ??) --- --- --- ' Postal System in Rapture ' Pneumo system again working (partially - its being repaired as New Rapture expands). The Pneumo System in MMORPG is more detailed (the Player interacts with it more). Flashbacks show how important it was to Rapture - by what happened when it was gone (the 'civil war' disruption). --- --- --- Detailing Golden Age Rapture : Players in-game Asset assemblages (props and details/decorations, singly and in groups) for shops and Residences, etc... can be copied (cleaned up) and added to locations in the scenes seen of Old Rapture as a side world (used in Flashbacks, recreations of the original game, roleplayings). The cohesiveness of creations made by Players can usually outdo Procedural Auto-Generated scenes used to auto-fill the extensive environs of the City. Anachronisms (like the cruder stuff in post chaos New Rapture) would need to be removed/patched. Script driven mutation of objects is part of the MMORPG system. Players spotting such in-game creations would/could submit it for consideration for this use -- implemented as part of the Player Creation Community the MMORPG would have (credit given to the original placer in the game). Many Sections of Rapture never before seen would be added in the MMORPG, and would be back-stitched into the Old version(s) of Rapture. The layout of the original city would be on old maps, so the (non-generic) contents would be known -- at least in a general way. So you don't need to worry about Players freely searching out (in the past in Flashbacks) things they shouldn't know about. It actually would be most effective to recreate the pristine state of things in the PAST, and then Messing-them-up/grungifying it all to make what it looks like in the LATER New Rapture Era. --- --- --- Rapture TV Puppets for kids TV shows (& film serials) ' : Instead of animated cartoons (which take ALOT more work (expense/labor/time) unless they are really really awful/apalling quality - even worse than American made ones in the 60s-70s). Unfortunately its largely "amateur time" with only some few technological advances. * Chermit the Carp * Sergeant X of the Rapture Constables * Moby the Moose * Captain Platypus --- --- --- '''Plot Element (Imagineering) ': Columbia had monstrous wind chimes (stolen from Peking ?) like 'ya neva saw befaw'. Comstock insisted on taking them, and they drove the population batshit crazy ... Explanation for the different Universe through the Tear leading to where the Revolution has begun. (Mandatory Sing-a-longs of Hymns in Praise of Comstock also helped). The large Wind chimes can also double as Execution Scaffolds for handling 'unmutual' people in Columbia . --- --- --- Lighthouse Ship Parking : Its not like you could just pullup in an Ocean Liner ... Stuff had to get into Rapture 600 feet below. It all had to be unloaded first. The Lighthouse is the obvious access point, with various facilities to handle freight -- those tiny Bathyspheres can barely hold anything of significant volume OR weight ( If you Load em up more that with about 8 people's weight and it would sink like a stone, so something more versatile would be needed for such Freight handling ). A haulage cableway DOWN the side of the Lighthouse ridge would haul a great deal of the cargo. Lighthouse Facilities : * Open ocean currents require anchorage/moorings close to ocean's surface (and further out when weathering the frequent stormy conditions). * Use of smaller surface boats to transfer from larger ships, which have to moor/anchor further off for Safety (and even the small boats would need a breakwater). * Possible use of Tugboats to stabilize the anchorage, and to facilitate prefabricated construction work. * How many boat/shiploads (tonnage) did it take to build and then populate Rapture ??? (Not just the people but all their Possessions too ?) * A Cubic yard of ready-made cement = 1.5 tons ??? (Assume aggregate supplied locally) There WOULD be *ALOT* of this material delivered to Rapture. * Alot of good sized prefabricated components would be made on the mainland (and even by being assembled as much as possible before being shipped to save costs). * Use of Unobtrusive Tramp Steamers for shipments (possibly even some transshipment mid-ocean when weather permitted) to 'obscure' the 'secretive' operation/project/city. --- --- --- add to the Quantum Particles Can Do Anything page 'Quantum Anything CANNOT Remain "Constant" ' : WERE THEY MORONS OR JUST LAZY HACKS (( the 'writers' of Infinite BS )) ??? Did the company grunts just do what they were told? But the designers 'claim' they consulted with'experts' about Quantum Physics (( '' More BS ?? Or just Buzzwords ??? '' )) . INCONSTANT AND A PROBABILITY SPACE is the WHOLE POINT of Quantum Physics -- the constant flux and indeterminent state (How the hell they got those ideas they spoke endlessly about is a mystery). Ignoring the science and just deciding to warp it, as " The Plot Called For It". The interviews showed they were willing to BS their way through everything, simply to SOUND like something "Sciencey" -- Sorry, that is NOT really that clever - any bad writer can do that). BTW, REAL 'Quantum' effect manipulations in OUR World take place at temperatures just above Absolute Zero - THATS MINUS 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit for those who never took much Science in school (... really really cold, and requiring complex/massive equipment even TODAY to provide). For all the things they (the Infinite BS gamewriters) claimed for Quantum Particles, it really is about as relevant to Real Physics as if they had wrote about "Magic Beans". They never should have used something from Real World terminology (all those related buzzwords and what THEY thought they sounded like) to pad their Poor Fantasy. The 'Theories' they claim its all about don't even relate to the Hypothesis of REAL Quantum Physics. They do sound like fools, going on and on about this stuff in the various Interviews, patting themselves on the back for being so clever about 'making this work' in their story -- when their misuse/abuse of Science was alot of fantasy gibberish. --- --- --- Real World Practicality '''Hugeness Fatigue : (Infinite BS & DLC was chronically diseased by Hugification) ... after a while, it is plain that making stuff huge just doesn't substitute for better scene detail. - Why put up huge EXPENSIVE signs (and monuments) that hardly anybody sees (or strains their neck to look at, and THEN not at any proper viewing angle). Again, Real World realities don't intrude in this odd "America" of Levine's. A shop (typical in Columbia being 4X larger than a real shop would be) with 100 customers has enough problem making a profit (or just breaking even) when they have to pay the rent, wages, inventory -- WITHOUT the shop being ridiculously oversize, and ALSO having an immense (eyesore) advertisement sign (which HAD to be paid for initially, and then the costs of maintaining it provided - and then having it lighted, costing with a power bill 4x what the INTERIOR of the shop uses). Advertisement is never cheap, and usually is made only as large/expensive as serves its purpose (( '' You need only look at "1900" internet pictures to see what REAL was like '' )). - (( '' Maybe it is a projection of the current "Big Game Maker's Mentality" - thinking that you HAVE TO expensively market/promote to be a success, that without that, trying to sell unexceptional/incompetent goods usually fails (BTW, something like half the whole budget for Infinite BS went to this 'marketing' activity -- SOMETHING reported as NOT UNUSUAL in today's game industry). But then, after 200 million dollars being spent, did Infinite BS even 'Break Even' to get back its investors money ??? --- NOW that game studio is out of business. That's not exactly what most people consider 'Success'. '' )) --- --- --- An Interesting Question Would Be : What Would Rapture's Money be based on ?? ''' : Specie (something valuable backing the Ryan Dollar convertible 'on demand') is probably the Objectivist's solution. 'Government meddling' is bad/to-be-avoided, and paper money which isn't backed by specie is subject to harmful manipulation. Specie on Demand to be redeemed for the Paper Bills ??? Unless there is a one-for-one 'reserve', as soon as a panic makes people 'redeem' (and hoard it - taking out of circulation), any remaining Paper Money is devalued (it is a classic monetary system problem). * What would the Specie be in New Rapture ?? How much would be enough for Raptures economy (including when Rapture grew ...) It IS a bit different than on the surface where you have half a chance to flee with your wealth somewhere (in Rapture you are in a bottle at the bottom of the sea). * Was there a Tinned Tuna Reserve in Rapture ? : (except that is eventually perishable) * "Sweat of the Brow" is hardly a valuable item in itself (a standard 'valued' labor measure smacks too much of socialism). * Could there be 'Gold' enough for the money supply (for normal commerce needs)? It would HAVE to be brought to Rapture first, and purchasing it ALSO be in addition to ALL the money needed (and SPENT into the outside world) to build Rapture. Gold coins get a bit weighty and silver likewise for large scale transactions (large denomination bank notes backed by gold was done in the old days). Confidence in Ryan and the Rapture Philosophy might be all there could be. A promise that you will always be able to pay your power bill, rent, and get Trolley Tokens for it might be the only guarantee. --- --- --- MMORPG Game Mechanics '''A Remote Way To Play : Using the Idea of having a Gaming computer located at home to do the game's heavy graphics processing, and then stream the output to the Player's remote Palmtop/Smartphone/Tablet. Some segments of the game might have less/simpler input interactions workable for these types of handheld hardware, and also could have activities requiring mostly watching output, where this input limitation could be workable. Consider that : Many of the simpler handheld devices cannot even do proper typing operations (very tedious for sending meaningful messages), and doubtless many other limitations. Upline bandwidth limitations (from the Home-based machine) would likely be still be present, so GOOD Video Compression (for the processed graphical views) would be a logical addition. (Unfortunately the Internet providers may restrict upstream/upline bandwith availability even more in future.) This Remote method is also fraught with the problems of your remote management of the system (when things on Internetz and Operating Systems go wrong all-the-time, and here you are remotely attempting to fix those things - usually it taking forever -- and having the Player swear it is not worth the wasted time). Initially it can be setup (computer turned on) with the Player starting it up at 'Home', and then leaving with further accesses being via the handheld. Various 'smart' server features can be used to self-monitor, and 'restart' a floundering system to get around the most common system glitches. --- --- --- Understand Real Submarines : Pix Look at the interior of a real WW2 submarine (there are a few around in museums you can actually tour), and all what is packed into a sub. It becomes very much harder (as in being ridiculously impossible) for those 'Bathyspheres' to be true submarines (capable of the significantly independent movement seen in the game). The game mentioned 'Fishing Subs' (which would be required to have significant distance capability while trawling) would have to be much larger vehicles (with greater capabilities - and thus complexity). A decade of new technical development (in Rapture) isn't enough to fix this. Rapture's transit had to be viable from the start. Players might be comparing to today's variety of small submersible which are the product or 70+ years of additional technological development (BTW - even THOSE things require BIG complex Support Ships for their quite limited uses). BioShock Rapture is not Infinite BS flakey-fantasy, so would be required to have plausible explanations for what you see in-game. A Cable Driven Bathysphere system would be the answer to make the 'Bathyspheres' more workable. The gamemakers could have given us more REAL looking 'submarines', like the things seen in 'Smugglers Den' which at least had half a chance of being plausible. Really, what would it have mattered to have a larger vehicle except for that snazzy round 'streamlined' Art Deco look someone envisioned in some meeting. (Note - "Form Over Function" is problematic when something actually has the requirement to FUNCTION.) By changing those 'Bathyspheres' closer to what would be the equivalent of a Disneyland 'People Mover' Capsule (moving on a cable), we can preserve the original styled 'vision', but then have it be something workable (and more viable even than realistic 'submarines', as something used for a reliable/routine/maintainable City "Transit System"). --- --- --- Commentary Infinite BS in General (AND An Unfortunate Spillover to Our Rapture) : Funny that many Infinite BS Reviews are Voicing Similar Comments To Mine : http://spoonyexperiment.com/game-reviews/bioshock-infinite-review/ Infinite BS had alot of things that would be too ridiculous even in Super Hero Comic Books (Skyline ...) * NPCs civilians shouldn't have been reduced to sheep/mannequins, and their having no reaction to the Player acting strangely in the 'normal' scenes (but see that takes ACTUAL programming knowhow -- pretty much absent in what you got -- after all the hype they spewed before it came out). * Repetitive actions/weapons, too few variation of opponents, uncreative filler activity for the Player. * Too much BS contrived for the game and its special 'vignettes', instead of having a decently logical cohesive flow of setting/story. * Grotesque violence, mass-murder, circus of blood/gore (to sell the game to the lower denominator), overkill for the 'story', * Nonsensical, pandering PC-isms ... * Plot that only goes one way, and your actions/'choices' in the end are insignificant/meaningless. * Pretentious/inconsistent/illogical, could have been ALOT better in so many ways (stick to historically/socially accurate details please, and DO NOT make up shit/whatever is convenient ...) * There is NO hero, nothing the Player does in the game really matters, nothing really changes (Player is nothing/irrelevant ... all is undone/voided in the end). Writers really didn't think all this through, or didn't care (or are trying to be clever, which it really wasn't). * Game is an OK pretty little tour (if you like Mannequin on Rails NPC behavior) until the shooting/splatterhouse starts (then the predictable repetitive combat lameness sets in). "But But But, Its JUST a game" ... EXACTLY, "Just" (and nothing more. Pretty meager actually. regardless of what all the interviews claim). --- --- --- need pix That Wrecked Trolley and Track, and a Safety Barrier that Seems to be Down : BS1 at the Athenas Glory end of the Trolley Viaduct on the Olympus Heights level. That end of the Tramway is blocked off with alot of debris. (Ignore that the tracks (simply stop) don't continuing properly, when they should (that will be well-fixed in the MMORPG). There is what appears to be a flat solid wall behind all that wreckage. I would have emergency barriers at such strategic spots to protect large areas from being flooded during a containment failure. So here, one reason such a theoretical barrier may be down is that the Athena's Glory building DID suffer a catastrophic leak, and IT was then closed off from the rest of the City. I don't think the game designers considered anything in that scene beyond 'flavor', and we don't see anything like an unlowered barrier mechanism even on the other Viaduct end, where we DO have a clear unobstructed view. I forget if there was in-game any indicator that Athena's Glory was still inhabitable (go back and look to see if any windows are lit). I would have the buildings themselves also have some internal bulkhead protected sections, and multiple paths allowing people to get out/be rescued from any "Secured" (locked down) sections (and to allow controlled ingress for repairs). There would be emergency barriers at many other points (like for the Utilities which have their own separate network system of widely interconnected pathways/accesses). I would say that spot is the right place to put a bulkhead. A monolithic sliding slab would be a good way (one view there even looks like it has edge reinforcement slots the slab would move within.) Smaller doors/portals into the buildings along main paths would be atypical (when the Trolleys need large ones). You'd think there would be more decorations around the door, but those always could get blasted away or pulled off to build barricades (alot of real Art Deco was cast Terra Cotta or Pressed Metal panels fastened to flat structure surfaces). A simple effective (reliable) mechanism is all that is required - not something expensively fancy. These Emergency Bulkheads, being part of the interior, aren't constantly exposed to Salt Water, so they aren't really subject to significant corrosion problems (allowing cheaper steel Rebar to be used for their reinforcement and Steel plate for the working surfaces/mechanisms). Very Important is to be reliably deployed FAST in an emergency, and THEN once the problem was solved (repairs of the major leak) it can be 'reset' -- THAT not needing to be done so fast. Actuators only have to drive the bulkhead one direction and the reset can be manually done (using repair jacks, etc ...) --- --- --- 'So Columbia's a "Flying Battleship" ?? Really ? ': Well those things are expensive (building them could bankrupt a country, let alone a pack of crazy cultists). A Battleship (example- USS Texas) cost $11 million in 1911 dollars - near $280 million today (and even better convert that to the weird overpricing shit you saw in Infinite BS). Oh, but now its not exactly a Battleship ?? Well, to FUNCTION like one (remember this thing, however improbably, is supposed to powerfully attack America at some later time, and had allegedly attacked a bunch of Chinamen in the Boxer Rebellion), then it is required to have MORE THAN A FEW of the many mechanisms to do all that. (( "But But But That's In The Future !!!" - But But But, someone still has to pay for it ... AND HAVE THE KNOWHOW FOR IT)) We are never told how Columbia guides/moves itself, or stabilizes itself (and all its many floaty pieces), or powers itself, or supplies itself. All the likely ways are just not seen, so it must all simply be Magic (You know -- quantumz power pulled out of Elizabeth's ass by that siphon thingee or somesuch - that aspect of it also particularly is NOT explained). The Game Candyland has more rational explanation built into it. Ditto Science, Ditto History, Ditto Religion ... - "Infunate" ??? (new word I just created to refer to the Bullshit stench of Infinite BS) --- --- --- --- --- . .